Couch potato to Dance Floor: From 4th of July to My Pre-Bastille Day Whirlwind

After a month away, I returned to Miami on July 1st—and went from jet-lagged couch potato on the 4th of July to dancing queen by Bastille Day. Between battling exhaustion, missing my kids, catching up on art, and celebrating French culture, this summer has been a true whirlwind. Here’s how I’m finding my balance (and my rhythm!) all over again.

July 13, 2025 – 11:48 pm Miami

Back in Miami since the evening of July 1st, and the jet lag is still trying to win. I landed and tried to catch up with everything at once—home, work, the never-ending admin, digesting the past month (or rather, the past months). But life caught up with me even faster. On July 4th, out of nowhere, I started to feel under the weather—suddenly sick, completely exhausted, congested, and of course, my period decided to join the party. What a way to kick off my solo week “with the dogs—and my husband!” The kids were all off: one on an internship out of state, the others with their grandparents.

When it comes to the kids spending time with grandparents or away from us, let’s just say: as we live across the ocean from our family, we often traveled with the kids for holidays. Modern grandparents are busy, so five days always seemed like the max—especially as, until just two years ago, the kids hadn’t started flying alone to Europe. (The pandemic delayed our plans to let them travel alone or stay longer with grandparents. Life is not always as you plan; you need to learn to dance with it.)

We’re a tight family and we’ve always loved spending as much time together as possible. I still do, but now I also value the time they get with their grandparents, and as they’re growing up, I see the importance of them experiencing more independence—even if I’m always wishing for more time with them, too.

So there I was: sick, forced to slow down. Very glamorous. Aside from one day where I literally couldn’t move off the couch, I kept going, but honestly felt like maybe 15% of myself for a few days. Little by little, from July 8th, I started to recover, and finally felt like myself again this Saturday—and even more so today!

Was it life’s way of reminding me I don’t control much? Or maybe just a forced pause, a way to breathe before more is coming?

My head is spinning now, with so much to do: the backlog of home admin, all the work waiting for me, the non-profit (Unchained Mothering), and the reality that I basically halted everything for the last month and a half—no shows, a true stop with my work (yes, I’m lucky being my own boss and can take a break whenever I want, but it often equals no sales—note to self: I need to work better on some passive income here! Choices have a price, but I’m grateful to have the choice).

On top of all this, I feel the energy to create bursting through me! I have maybe 10 or 12 days left before the kids return (I do work when the kids are here, but let’s be honest, there are fewer interruptions when they’re away). At the same time, our second daughter turns 18 on July 21, which makes me ache to be with her. When we planned the summer, I knew it would be almost impossible to be with her on the day, since we had our family holiday together in June when we were in Israel. Still, I keep debating whether I should jump on a plane, even knowing it’s really not the right time—energy-wise, work-wise, financially, or otherwise.

How many of you can relate to this avalanche of thoughts—projects started and unfinished, and more projects waiting to begin? Oh, and did I mention I’m also thinking about starting a new diet and getting back into sport to lose the ten pounds I gained thanks to a hormonal rollercoaster between last September and December? (I’ve only managed to lose four of them since… sigh.) So yes, a lot growing in my head! Which calls for a loud STOP.

So I try to talk to myself as I would to a friend: Thank G-d, you’ve found your energy again. One thing at a time; it will all get done, whether it’s for family, home, work, or the non-profit. Take a big breath, make a list, and please—don’t forget to do a little something for yourself, or you’ll end up frustrated with everyone, especially you.

And remember how amazing it felt to dance all Saturday evening, celebrating a friend’s birthday? Yes, there’s a lot to do. But one thing I was reminded of while in Israel: priorities make themselves clear, and even if we can’t live in “crisis mode” forever, it’s just as important to seek happiness and presence in the moment. In the end, what matters is being here, now, happy—because that’s really the only time we truly have any control over.

Oh, and July 14 is the French national day—Bonne fête la France! To celebrate, I’m thrilled to share that my work “The Baron of Bowery” is featured on Cohart, a great new platform for art sales where I’ve had the honor and pleasure of being selected twice before in their curated collections—and again now for July 14!